Comparative studies on the growth of Australian bluetongue virus serotypes in continuous cell lines and embryonated chicken eggs

The replication of cell culture passaged Australian bluetongue virus (BTV) isolates, serotypes 20 (CSIRO19) and 1 (CSIRO156), and an untyped BTV (CSIRO154) was assessed in eight continuous cell lines (one derived from baby hamster kidney cells, BHK-21; three derived from monkey kidney cells, Vero, LLC-MK2 and CV-1P; a foetal ovine lung and a mouse fibroblast cell line, CSL503 and L929, respectively, a Super-Vero-Porcine stable cell line, SVP; and a mosquito cell line, Aedes albopictus cells) and in 11-day-old embryonated chicken eggs (ECE) at different multiplicities of infection. All three viruses replicated in the cell lines tested, maximum extracellular virus yields being attained from BHK-21 cells at high multiplicities of infection (approximately 10 PFU per cell). Also BHK-21 cells produced much higher yields of virus than the other cell lines tested when low multiplicities of infection were used (approximately 10(-4) PFU per cell). All BTV serotypes multiplied in Singh's Aedes albopictus cells with no cytopathogenic effects over the 4 day period tested. The viruses also replicated in 11-day-old ECE; however, the sensitivity of ECE for growth of the Australian serotypes was not as high as has been reported for BTV isolates in other countries. In all cell culture systems and in ECE, BTV1 and BTV20 replicated more efficiently than did CSIRO154 virus.